[ Résilience des communautés de pêcheurs face à l’exploitation du champ gazier offshore « Grand Tortue-Ahmeyim » (GTA) entre le Sénégal et la Mauritanie ]
Volume 48, Issue 2, April 2026, Pages 584–602
Serigne Modou SARR1, El Hadji Ahmadou BA2, and Didier Kantoukane KABO3
1 Institut Supérieur de Formation Agricole et Rurale (ISFAR), Université de Thiès, BP 54, Bambey, Senegal
2 Institut supérieur de Formation Agricole et rurale, Université Alioune Diop, Senegal
3 Direction des Aires Marines Protégées, Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Transition écologique, Senegal
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The development of oil and gas activities represents a real threat to the marine and coastal environment, which has already been facing significant attacks for several decades, such as coastal erosion and the opening of the breach at the Langue de Barbarie. This research aims to study the environmental and socio-economic challenges linked to the exploitation of hydrocarbons (mainly gas) of the GTA project between Senegal and Mauritania. Thanks to the analysis of documentary reviews and field surveys, it was possible to synthesize knowledge on the resilience of fishing communities in the context of gas exploitation. The study involved a survey of 100 fishing stakeholders in the Saint-Louis region. The selection was carried out using quota sampling. The results indicate that fishermen are seeing disruptions to their activities and the environment. After the installation of the platform in the Jaatara area, access is prohibited to fishermen for a radius of 500m from the site. This directly impacts fishermen who practice angling. Consequently, the socio-economic repercussions are perceptible by the population in terms of economic losses (reduction in income) and change in living conditions. It is crucial to take into consideration the risks linked to the exploitation of hydrocarbons on the northern Senegalese coast in order to be able to manage them adequately.
Author Keywords: resilience, vulnerability, fisheries, sustainability, marine, oil, offshore.
Volume 48, Issue 2, April 2026, Pages 584–602
Serigne Modou SARR1, El Hadji Ahmadou BA2, and Didier Kantoukane KABO3
1 Institut Supérieur de Formation Agricole et Rurale (ISFAR), Université de Thiès, BP 54, Bambey, Senegal
2 Institut supérieur de Formation Agricole et rurale, Université Alioune Diop, Senegal
3 Direction des Aires Marines Protégées, Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Transition écologique, Senegal
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The development of oil and gas activities represents a real threat to the marine and coastal environment, which has already been facing significant attacks for several decades, such as coastal erosion and the opening of the breach at the Langue de Barbarie. This research aims to study the environmental and socio-economic challenges linked to the exploitation of hydrocarbons (mainly gas) of the GTA project between Senegal and Mauritania. Thanks to the analysis of documentary reviews and field surveys, it was possible to synthesize knowledge on the resilience of fishing communities in the context of gas exploitation. The study involved a survey of 100 fishing stakeholders in the Saint-Louis region. The selection was carried out using quota sampling. The results indicate that fishermen are seeing disruptions to their activities and the environment. After the installation of the platform in the Jaatara area, access is prohibited to fishermen for a radius of 500m from the site. This directly impacts fishermen who practice angling. Consequently, the socio-economic repercussions are perceptible by the population in terms of economic losses (reduction in income) and change in living conditions. It is crucial to take into consideration the risks linked to the exploitation of hydrocarbons on the northern Senegalese coast in order to be able to manage them adequately.
Author Keywords: resilience, vulnerability, fisheries, sustainability, marine, oil, offshore.
Abstract: (french)
Le développement des activités pétrolières et gazières représente une véritable menace pour l’environnement marin et côtier, qui est déjà confronté à des agressions importantes depuis plusieurs décennies, comme l’érosion côtière et l’ouverture de la brèche au niveau de la Langue de Barbarie. Cette recherche vise à étudier les défis environnementaux et socio-économiques liés à l’exploitation des hydrocarbures (principalement du gaz) du projet GTA entre le Sénégal et la Mauritanie. Grâce à l’analyse des revus documentaires et des enquêtes de terrain, il a été possible de documenter les connaissances sur la résilience des communautés de pêcheurs dans le contexte de l’exploitation du gaz. L’étude a impliqué une enquête auprès de 100 acteurs de la pêche dans la région de Saint-Louis. La sélection a été réalisée en utilisant un échantillonnage par quotas. Les résultats indiquent que les pêcheurs constatent des perturbations sur leurs activités et sur l’environnement. Après l’installation de la plateforme dans la zone de Jaatara, l’accès est interdit aux pêcheurs pour un rayon 500m du site. Ce qui impacte directement les pêcheurs qui pratiquent la pêche à la ligne. Par conséquent, les répercussions socio-économiques sont perceptibles par la population en termes de pertes économiques (réduction des revenus) et de changement de conditions de vie. Il est déterminant de prendre en considération les risques liés à l’exploitation des hydrocarbures sur le littoral nord sénégalais afin de pouvoir les gérer de manière adéquate.
Author Keywords: résilience, vulnérabilité, pêcheurs, durabilité, mer, pétrole, offshore.
How to Cite this Article
Serigne Modou SARR, El Hadji Ahmadou BA, and Didier Kantoukane KABO, “Resilience of fishing communities in the face of offshore gas field exploitation: The case of the Grand Tortue-Ahmeyim (GTA) project between Senegal and Mauritania,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 584–602, April 2026.
